Edible Design Transfer using Edible Pens

Transferring a Design using Edible Pens

When transferring designs to edible surfaces it is important to use an edible design technique.

The easiest way is to trace the design then trace it down onto the surface however pencil is not edible so should not be used onto the surface of cakes or other edible media.

This method of design transfer is completely edible and makes transferring edible designs very easy although a bit more time-consuming.

First Trace Your Design

Choose the design you want to trace onto your cake. This could be a picture, motif or writing.

Using tracing paper and a sharp pencil trace your chosen design by holding the paper firmly and outlining all the areas that you want to transcribe with the pencil.

Then Perforate the Outline

Place the traced design onto a piece of polystyrene. You could also use foam or a cutting mat if you prefer.

Using a sharp scriber needle prick all around your traced outline. Make sure you prick cleanly through the paper and keep the holes as close as you can. Tip: If you have a sewing machine you can speed up this process by stitching around the outline with a fine needle set to small stitches but without any thread in the spool!

Transfer the Design to your Cake

Place the perforated design in position on your cake or plaque

Hold firmly in place

Using the thicker end of the Rainbow Dust Edible pen trace over the outline again. Make sure you cover all the perforations. In the video below I have used a black pen because I am going to outline the finished design in black (It also shows up better on the filming!) but you can use a paler colour if your design is going to be very pale or you are going to be piping an inscription. I like the silver grey for this – it gives enough colour for you to be able to see it but is very pale and won’t spoil your finished design.

Lift the tracing from the finished design and you have a dotted line of edible ink showing you exactly where you need to pipe, paint or place cut out pieces.